Glory Daze (1995)

Purely Joyful Movie!

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Slick like a MTV video, rap pulsating in the background, punky post-grunge set and clothing, Glory Daze amuses, but it's shallow, clichéd amusement. The senior year at college winds down and all the stereo-types jam a run down student's house. The beer flows, the girls hang around for what reason I don't know, and the furniture is smashed. Cool huh? OK, my senior year wasn't much different back in 69, just more drugs, but what did we learn? For most kids, we didn't learn a whole lot. That's why it's tough to make immature personalities come alive in film. It takes a real artist, but what the hell, last chance to make a fool of yourself without consequence, usually.

Before you get excited about a cast that includes the likes of Brendan Fraser, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon and Leah Remini, ("The King of Queens"), let it be stated for the record that the sum total of screen time for these four players is something in the region of three minutes. At the time they were marked as new talent to be watched; before they became stars.College comedies tend to be crude and downright stupid. While "Glory Daze" does have it's moments of such things it is redeemed by some good ensemble playing. Being the story of a bunch of guys renting a house it's crucial that the bond between the characters of this disparate group be palpable. In this, director Rich Wilkes has succeeded. While dealing with the serious issue of making decisions which will affect the rest of one's life, "Glory Daze" remains light, never losing sight of what it set out to be; a fun movie. While it's not a whole lot of fun, it is watchable. Ben Affleck is surprisingly good in this early role, but that in itself is a back handed compliment, since it also indicates how little he's developed with his elevation to big star status. Sam Rockwell's humor and reticent charm never fails to work, though he's not called upon to do much. French Stewart is less irritating that one may expect as too is Alyssa Milano.Interesting mainly for the cast, "Glory Daze' has a nice feel to it, but not one to seek out.

I saw this movie a few years ago. I loved it then. I remember watching it twice, back to back cause I liked it so much. Surprised me. It was a hidden gem for sure. Then today I woke up and remembered the movie. I couldn't remember the name. I just remembered French Stewart, Ben Affleck and Brendan Frasier were in it. I came to this site to find out what the name of the movie is and was appalled to find negative comments about "Glory Daze". Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but wow! Were those of you who didn't enjoy this movie actually watching it? This is one of my all time top ten for sure. Give it a chance. Take a look. If you enjoy good scripts and earnest acting, look no further. Cheers.

Wow. Glory Days... I saw the movie, I came here to warn others against it, and see all the wonderful praise heaped upon it. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE. French Stewart, yes, Ben Affleck, yes, Spalding Gray, yes... all trying to make bread money out of this movie. This must have been during their "starving" period. I rented this thinking I'd be getting into the "Pleasant Surprise" category, ie The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, but found it much too serious for a comedy, and dealing with far too light a subject matter to be a drama... it was a disappointment.